Barcelona will be hoping Lionel Messi does not suffer a hangover from his UEFA Champions League penalty miss at Manchester City as they look to bounce back from a Liga defeat to Malaga this weekend... Read more

Lionel Messi scored a record-equalling 23rd La Liga hat-trick in his 300th La Liga appearance as Barcelona hammered Levante 5-0 to keep up the pressure on league leaders Real Madrid on Sunday... Read more

About

Real Club Celta de Vigo, often known more simply as Celta Vigo, was founded in 1923 after the merger of city rivals Real Fortuna FC and Real Vigo Sporting. The idea to combine the clubs was intended to make the new team more competitive on a national level.

Despite this, Celta Vigo have never won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, or indeed any major trophy. The closest the club has come was the 1993-94 Copa del Rey final, which ended in a 0-0 draw after extra time. Eventually, Real Zaragoza went on to win the match via a penalty shoot out. Celta Vigo were also runners up in 2000–01, losing to the same opponents.

The most successful period in the club's history came between 1997 and 2003, at a time when the Spanish press began to call them EuroCelta. In the 2002-03 season, Celta Vigo finished 4th, ahead of bigger teams like Barcelona and Valencia. To date, it remains their highest ever league finish and it resulted in their qualification for the following season's UEFA Champions League.

Some of the great players to represent the club in the past include Aleksandr Mostovoi, the Russian playmaker who spent eight seasons with the club, becoming their all time record appearance maker; Hermidita, who became the club's record goal scorer during the 1940s and 1950s and Claude Makélélé, who transferred to Real Madrid for €14 million in 2000, having made almost 100 appearances for Celta Vigo.

Since 1928, the club has played its home matches at the Estadio Municipal de Balaídos. The stadium was renovated ahead of Celta Vigo's Champions League campaign in 2003-04, as it failed to meet the required standards UEFA set. The ground currently has a maximum capacity of 31,800, although the record attendance was set at 45,000 for a match against Getafe in May 1982.